NCT02377804

Dry Needling for Spasticity in Stroke

Changes in Spasticity, Range of Motion and Pressure Pain Sensitivity in Patients With Stroke After the Application of Dry Needling in the Shoulder Musculature

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Stroke is the leading cause of physical disability due to the presence of spasticity. Different needling techniques, including Botulinum Toxin A are proposed for management of spasticity; however results are conflicting. The presence of spasticity in the upper extremity implies several impairments for daily life activities. No study has investigated the effects of deep dry needling inserted into the targeted spastic musculature of the shoulder region in patients who had suffered a stroke. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of the inclusion of deep dry needling into a rehabilitation program over the musculature of the shoulder region, pressure pain hyperalgesia and range of motion in individuals with chronic stroke. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving dry needling into the spastic shoulder musculature would exhibit greater improvements in spasticity, pressure sensitivity and range of motion than those who will not receive the intervention.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Dry needling	Patients will receive deep dry needling with disposable stainless steel needles (0.3mm x 50mm) that will be inserted into the skin over taut bands of the spastic musculature of the shoulder area: upper trapezius, subscapularis, infraspinatus, and pect
OTHER	Physical Therapy	Patients will receive 3 sessions, one per week, of 45min of physical therapy including mobilizations of the scapular region, manual therapies targeted to decrease muscle tone, neuromodulatory techniques for spasticity and proprioceptive exercises for the upper extremity
DEVICE	stainless steel needles (0.3mm x 50mm)

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-01-01
• Primary completion: 2015-04-01
• Completion: 2015-04-01
• First posted: 2015-03-04
• Last updated: 2015-04-07

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Spain